Good Karma Giveaway Winners!

I am not a fan of Mondays, but here's some happy news from the giveaway front.

I've already delivered shark bookmarks and The Hunger Games to our first prize pack winner Miss GENNIA. Yay for more HG readers!

And prize pack 2 with the journal and bookmarks goes to ASIU1990! I'll contact you (or you contact me?) so I can get your mailing info.

Thanks for playing! May the odds be ever in your favor!

Randomosity on Fridays: Real or NOT Real Edition

Obviously, I have Mockingjay on the brain, but I will refrain from spoilers because that's not cool. I even dreamed I was in the Hunger Games when I was reading the first book. Luckily, it wasn't anything scary - other than being in the arena aware that other people are trying to kill you and your partner is kind of useless because he's injured and not at all taking things seriously. But otherwise, it was okay - just me hiking through the woods.

I am so tired, guys, from all the crazy reading and staying up late to read because sleep and being a zombie at work was totally worth it. Or at least I thought so at the time (I'm really feeling it now at the end of the week), but mostly it was worth it. Onwards and upwards!

So you tell me, real or not real?

1. I read the entire Hunger Games trilogy + Sapphique in a week.

2. It has taken me nearly a month to read The Sky is Everywhere.

3. Lucky Macbook is lucky! My friend and I each won a Mockingjay pin from Scholastic in their last giveaway. We both entered on my Macbook.

4. Mockingjay made me switch teams.

5. I am going to New York for a week mid-September.

6. I just bought these Steve Madden oxford booties for nearly half off the retail price.

7. I have not slept more than 5 hours this week.

8. There is still time to enter the Good Karma giveaway where a copy of The Hunger Games, sharks, and a nice journal are up for grabs. The odds actually are in your favor.

What's REAL and NOT REAL in your life lately? Last weekend of August! ENJOY IT!

ANSWERS after the cut.


1. NOT REAL: It was more like 1.5 weeks. Monday before Mockingjay Day was a day of agony for me because I had been done with Sapphique by Friday (after I'd finished Catching Fire), and I couldn't wait for Mockingjay.

2. REAL: It's a lovely book, but I got side-tracked and then swept away by the Hunger Games madness and then Sapphique. I'm finally finishing this one up.

3. REAL: Looks like naming my lucky win after my luck demon was a good idea. Can't believe we BOTH won a pin!

4. NOT REAL: I already adore Peeta, and while my affection for Gale grew in Mockingjay, I'm still FIRMLY Team Katniss. Besides, I'm in love with Finnick Odair. Yeah, that's right. Finnick fangirl.

5. REAL: I'll be in NYC starting the 2nd weekend of September, staying with my old Cal roomies. Yay! Anything I should definitely go do?

6. REAL: Saw them in store, but didn't love them enough (not a fan of shiny leather) to buy them at full price. The lower price on Amazon made me waver enough to proceed to checkout, and thanks to some mysterious promotion, they're practically half off store-price! WIN.

7. NOT REAL: The night I finished Mockingjay was a 5 hour night - well, less than 5 because my brain was too restless to properly shut down. The other nights were more like 6 to 6.5 hour nights.

8. REAL! So go enter! You have until Sunday night, Pacific time!

MOCKINGJAY!

MOCKINGJAY is out today! Sadly, I am working and so cannot be huddled on a couch somewhere, furiously flipping through pages to find out what happens next. (Please, no spoilers!)

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and join in the interwebby celebration!

I'm celebrating work-appropriately with an all black outfit, accented by a gold bird pin given to me by a friend. It's not a mockingjay because sadly, I don't have one of these, but it'll do (and I love it besides). And of course, there's a hint of gold eyeliner. (CINNA!)

Also, Team Katniss FTW!

(courtesy of Galleysmith.com)

Here's why:
1. She's fierce.
2. She's independent.
3. She doesn't need a man. And anyway...
4. She wears the pants in the relationship triangle.
5. She's not afraid of carbs or eating with her hands.
6. She's a fighter and a survivor.
7. She can shoot you in the eye with an arrow...in the dark.
8. She will claw you in the face if you piss her off.
9. She's a BAMF.
10. She's the girl on fire.

I haven't been this excited about a book release since Harry Potter! So with that, I leave you with this randomly related discussion between Alz and my sister over Twitter about hand-made manatee toys.


Sister: i think i want to make HUNGER GAME-ateess! the green one will be katniss. orange = peeta

Alz: So will the Katniss one have a braid & a bow & arrow motif while the Peeta one has a loaf of bread sewn onto its belly?

Sister: Katniss will have a mockingjay sewn on it (which you will do since i am not skilled) HAAH peeta one sounds good.

Krispy: We agree though that Alz will have to make Cinnatee because he needs to be pretty/fabulous.

P.S. Don't forget, I'm giving away a copy of The Hunger Games, sharks, and a pretty journal!

Randomosity on Fridays

I don't even know where to begin. This has been a tiring week guys, but it's mostly my own fault. I stayed up reading instead of sleeping. It's something when I consistently sacrifice sleep for a book. So here's a short and random 5.

1. Over the course of this week, I have finished both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. There's been so much reading and sacrificing of sleep involved that I have been dreaming about the arena. Luckily, the dreams mostly involve my making my way through forest. I finished Catching Fire today, and I CANNOT WAIT for Tuesday. Mockingjay!!!

2. Also, I am giving away a copy of The Hunger Games here because it is THAT GOOD.

3. I'm neither Team Peeta or Team Gale. If anything, I'm Team Katniss because she's a BAMF and really, I think she's got a lot of other stuff on her plate at the moment to worry about. (I do adore Peeta though, and Gale is kind of hot, but really I love another.)

4. I am obsessed with a card game my friend taught me called NERTS. It's like Solitaire mixed with Speed mixed with INTENSE competition. Luce, her sister, Alz, my sister, and I have been having NERTS parties almost every night this week. It is exhausting but fun. And then I slink off to read Catching Fire after they've gone...

5. I have no idea what to read next. I'm feeling that post-book void now that Catching Fire is behind me. I was in the middle of both Sapphique and The Sky is Everywhere, and I have Graceling waiting in the wings. I think Sapphique will win out since that was my ZOMG sequel before I jumped into The Hunger Games. That and my brain is so full of danger and intrigue, I don't think I could handle the lovely but much slower pace of The Sky is Everywhere.

What's on your reading list currently? Are you excited for Mockingjay (this feels like a rhetorical question)?! I'm going to try to get some extra sleep this weekend. TGIF!

P.S. (What are my posts without these random post scripts?) Tahereh has reinforced her utter AWESOMENESS again by having a contest that blows many other contests (including my own!) out of the water. MONEY FOR BOOKS. No seriously, check it out because it closes soon.

Good Karma Bookish Giveaway!

Sorry guys for being super late on this, but I have a good excuse! It was my birthday on Monday (the reason for Alz's spectacular post, btw), and I was too busy trying to get over the many birthday desserts I ate over the weekend. The dessert count, by the way, is 3 scoops of green tea ice cream, a vanilla and fudge sundae, a slice of cheesecake, a slice of caramel swirled vanilla pound cake, and a red velvet cupcake. Okay, enough about me being a fatty! On with the show!

So in honor of the week of fabulousness that led up to my birthday, I am taking the GIANT HINT from the Universe to pay the good karma forward. I'm having a legit book/reading/writing-related giveaway!

PRIZES!!!

Hunger Games, Journal, Shark Bookmarks!

There will be TWO prizes consisting of either:

1. Brand new, still smells like Borders, paperback copy of the very epic Hunger Games AND a set of shark bookmarks - waterproof! because sharks live in water. :)

OR

2. Pretty writing/jotting/whatever journal AND a set of waterproof shark bookmarks (because the bookmarks are that cool).

If you would like, I will put a nameplate of sorts inside the journal for you with whatever name you'd like. Example down below - something I did for a friend's journal.

PLUS, I have some other swag - promotional bookmarks for books like The DUFF and mustache stickers!


So what do you have to do to get one of these prize packs? EASY PEASY!

Just leave a comment on this post with what prize you'd like and provide some kind of email contact info, and that's 1 entry! The extra entry thing seems complicated, but it also makes things a bit more exciting, SO...



For EXTRA points:
+1 for following
+2 for Old Followers
+2 for tweeting/blogging/spread the word about this

+2 to +5 for suggesting and/or demonstrating an exercise for our crazy Hunger Games Workout idea in the comments. (You can be outrageous. Points given by our discretion.)

Let me know which of these you've done in the comments.



And BONUS item to be added to one of the prize packs (possibly for most hilarious workout suggestion):

A felt shark plushie made by the Alz herself!

(I'm not sure what's up with the shark theme. I think it was Shark Week when Krunchy and I came up with this idea...)

This giveaway is open until SUNDAY, August 29, and sadly, it will have to be U.S. only since I have enough trouble figuring out the post office as it is. Next time, I will be more prepared! Promise!

The Krunchy one and I will then put slips in a bowl and draw out two winners all dramatically (or I'll use a random number generator), and I will announce winners here at the start of the following week.

So I hope you'll join me in celebrating my birthday, good karma, and the upcoming release of Mockingjay in less than a week!!!

Now, excuse me while I return to reading the exciting events of Catching Fire.

May the odds be ever in your favor!

A Krispy Timeline

 Today is August 16. It is a day worthy of note, for many strange and wondrous things have occurred on this day throughout the centuries. Please join me in a chronicle of August 16th's points of interest:

On this day in 546 B.C., Krispy hatched fully clothed from an egg.

On this day in 200 B.C., Krispy became responsible for the extinction of the silver-spotted unicorn.

On this day in 141 B.C., Krispy pulled the evolutionary strings necessary for George Lucas to some day be born.

On this day in 12 B.C., Krispy went to sleep.

On this day in 1378, the fourth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Hongxi Emperor, was born.

On this day in 1386, Alz crawled out of the darkness.

On this day in 1401, Krispy was still asleep.


On this day in 1513, during the Battle of the Guinegate, King Henry VIII of England kicked some French ass.

On this day in 1514, Krispy woke up.

On this day in 1568, Krispy wrote Romeo and Juliet, which work would later be stolen by a poncy little upstart named William Shakespeare.

On this day in 1635, Krispy discovered ice cream.

On this day in 1644, Krispy saw a shark up close and personal for the first time.

On this day in 1645, Krispy slept.

On this day in 1648, Krispy snorted and rolled over in her sleep deep in her limestone lair.

On this day in 1658, Krispy woke up.

On this day in 1659, inspired by her years-long dream, Krispy genetically engineered the panda and traveled back through time to distribute it in bamboo groves all throughout China, as well as one little-known bamboo grove on a tiny island just off the southern coast of Australia.
On this day in 1692, Krispy founded the mighty kingdom of Bobaland.

On this day in 1693, Krispy unfounded the kingdom of Bobaland and named it Germany instead, only to find that the people had been calling it Germany for a long time already.

On this day in 1777, during the Battle of Bennington of the (American) Revolutionary War, General John Stark of the Americans kicked British ass.

Also on this day in 1777, Krispy kicked ass in the name of the United States of America, though the accuracy of her flag was questionable.

On this day in 1888, T. E. Lawrence A.K.A. Lawrence of Arabia was born.

On this day in 1889, Krispy hunted sharks all day but was disappointed because she inexplicably encountered no quarry at all.

On this day in 1890, Krispy faced Buffalo Bill in a quickdraw at high noon in a little town called Kangaru Point.
On this day in 1913, Tohoku University in Japan admitted that women are equally as awesome as men and admitted its first female students.

On this day in 1930, Ub Iwerks (original creator of Mickey Mouse) created the first color sound cartoon, Fiddlesticks.

On this day in 1932, Krispy wrestled her first shark. And won.

On this day in 1934, Diana Wynne Jones, author of Howl's Moving Castle amongst many other marvelous works, was born.

On this day in 1956, Bela Lugosi died.

On this day in 1962, Steve Carell was born.

On this day in 1967, Krispy founded the Association for the Promotion and Uplifting of Shark Happiness, with the acronym of APUSH.

On this day in 1994, Krispy wrestled another shark. And lost.

Also on this day in 1994, Krispy disbanded APUSH.

On this day in 2010, Krispy thought about ice cream.


And there you have it. A record of incidences and events that happened on August 16th throughout Krispy's history. I hope you have enjoyed this educational experience and will join me in wishing Krispy a happy birthday indeed. ♥♥♥

Partial August 16th Source: The Ubiquitous Wikipedia

Randomosity on Fridays: August Week of WIN

Not to sound like that TV show, but this has sort of been the BEST WEEK EVER. How? Let me count the ways.

1. Last week ended nicely with two movie nights for (500) Day of Summer and 10 Things I Hate about You, in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt uttered the line "You can't treat people like that just because you're beautiful" or some variation of that in both movies. And both movies were sooo good. It was Luce's first time seeing 10 Things (finally!) and the wonder that is Heath Ledger belting Can't Take My Eyes Off of You in the bleachers, backed by a marching band. A+++

2. Um, Writeoncon was this week, and it was awesome! I just wish I could have done more of it in real time, but alas, day job! Thanks everyone who pulled together to make that happen! Free online conferences filled with awesome peeps FTW!

3. I did so much exercise this week (for me) that I think I'm still on an endorphin rush. Yoga and swimming, yay! Not nearly enough for me to compete with Krunchy in the Hunger Games Workout though. I mean, look at her.

4. On the 16th, I turn 24. OMG. I may be going out for insane karaoke tonight, though that's less for my upcoming birthday and more like crashing someone else's bash. But it will be fun!

5. You know how sometimes I think the Universe is out to get me and how I say I never win anything (except lately...thanks for all the books!)? Well, turns out I'm wrong on both counts. You know those radio station giveaways? I never get in, much less win anything.

On Monday, August 9th, I called in, made it through, and WON A MACBOOK. I picked it up Wednesday.

No, I did not have to answer a question or sing a song or complete a lyric. I just called in and was caller #20. I think LiLa told me my lucky number is 22 when I won a book from them. So, 20, 22, I'm turning 24 (like one of my formerly favorite shows)...hmmm... I actually don't know where I'm going with this.

So yeah, I've been on one lucky streak. I've been on a high since Monday since I've never won anything this big, and it is beautiful and shiny. Timely too since I've had my laptop for a long while now, and my dad's been saying maybe it's time for a new one, though I love my laptop and it still works okay!

I'm going to name my new shiny Aesil, after the Luck Demon in my WIP. Seems appropriate.

The Universe has been kind and freaking AWESOME to me of late. And I'm going to pay it forward...on Monday but first, here's a teaser pic.

Have a happy, glorious, frolicsome weekend everyone! I know it's Friday the 13th today, but I hope it becomes your lucky, lucky day. I hope the Universe is being kind to you too! PEACE OUT.

P.S. A HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout-out to the lovely artist and fellow lover of Disneyland, Miss Beverly_E!

WIP Wednesday: Putting It Into Words

WriteOnCon has started and it's kind of freaking awesome! Ah, to not be at work when most of the fun is going on. Definitely check it out if you haven't! Everything is archived.

So I've been reading Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel. I don't usually read books on craft, mostly because I'm a slow reader and barely have enough time to do all the things I need to do much less want to do. That and there are so many out there, I'm never sure where to start. In any case, I picked up this one, and I'm finding it to be very useful.

Much of what Maass talks about is stuff we "already know." It's those things we hear and read about all the time that it's practically common sense! Show don't tell. Keep up the tension. Heighten the stakes. Create complex characters. Of course, of course! But really, what does all that mean?

I think sometimes, we know these things so well that we sort of lose sight of the meaning or we forget to really think about them. It's kind of like trying to define words out of the blue. These are words you DO know, words you grasp, words you use, but how many of you have been stumped when someone asks you to give a definition? You know the word, you really do, but you're having a hard time finding the right way to explain it. Happened all the time in SAT classes and still happens now when my sister throws a fast one at me.

This writing book gave me that kind of realization. It forced me to stop and ask, what are the stakes for this character? How can they be heightened? Where is the conflict in this story? Will people care about it?

It helped me put character motivations and plot threads into words. It made these things that were vague in my head into solid constructs. Suddenly, from my intriguing (but vague) premise, I could see where the plot should logically go, what the motivations could and/or should be. Pieces started clicking into place, and I found myself staring down a road, instead of stumbling blindly through a thick fog.

By no means am I actually helming the boat, but at least now I have a better idea of where I'm going and what my characters may or may not have in store for me.

Does putting ideas into words help you see the way the story is supposed to go? Does it help you get past writer's block or untangle unruly plot threads?

P.S. Beth Revis has a cool Mockingjay contest here going on right now. GO WIN!

P.P.S. Another fun lit thing happening on the web: YA Fantasy Showdown. Vote for your favorites. Sabriel would so kick Eragon's butt.

COMING SOON:

The Hunger Games Workout:

 EXERCISE or DIE!!!

P.P.P.S. The Universe has been SUPER generous to me of late (and it's starting to freak me out), so I'm going to pay the AWESOME forward. Let's just say, it involves BOOKS and SHARKS. Oh and my birthday. :) Stay tuned!!!

Randomosity on Fridays: It's August!

I'm back from Las Vegas and mostly recovered, though still in dire need of more sleep. What else is new? How have all you fine folks been?

Short and sweet 5:

1. I'm starting to understand what it feels like to be one of my characters or more specifically, to work for her. She runs what is essentially an accounting firm crossed with an archive. I have so many piles of papers on my desk that my elbows are knocking into them, and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. For Solaris, at least she's the boss. I'm just a grunt on the ground. BOO PAPERWORK!!!

2. In Las Vegas, I learned that you should not drink brandy as a shot. Mostly because it is disgusting and burns and will turn you beet red down to your toes (if you get the Glow at all). That was one Shot of Regret. So. Much. Regret.

3. In Las Vegas, I probably danced to this song.



Oh wait, or was it to that other song or that other one by...? (Another funny project from Wong Fu Productions, KevJumba and David Choi)

4. It's only August, but I'm already thinking about November and NaNoWriMo. That is a little scary. Is it really so soon? I am in desperate need of a writing schedule, a study schedule (standardized tests are still the bane of my existence), and a sleep schedule. ARGH.

5. Mustache me! Check out our giveaway in the post below, or you know, you can just click my link.

C'mon, you know you want free stuff and book swag bookmarks! Besides, we might even sweeten the deal with a specially mixed 'Stachetastic Giveaway playlist CD for all your inspirational (or just road tripping) needs! Ready to get 'stached?

Also, the sister doesn't really speak in a Muppet voice... At least, not all the time.

FINALLY, (this isn't really a #6), I know I was being a total tease about this random idea the sister and I had about improving your health/fitness with reading, and I know I said I was going to tell you about it this week. I'm sorry, but I'm not.

We're trying to flesh this ridiculous idea out and will hopefully have an EPIC post or two for you next week on the topic. Oh, and I'm going to attempt to blaze through The Hunger Games and Catching Fire this weekend, so that we can truly make our workout plan truly Hunger Games worthy.

Oh and I might be giving pretty writerly things away. And maybe more. You'll have to tune in next week to find out! Tell me your best staying-in-shape-sort-of routines! Happy weekend!

A Tale of Two Sisters & A 'Stache-tastic GIVEAWAY!

HELLO lovelies. It is August and I have a FUN GIVEAWAY for all of you! This fun thing was so secret and spontaneous that not even Alz knew until I told her like last night.

BUT FIRST...

Today, I have a tale of two sisters to tell.

*
There once were two sisters, KRISPY and KRUNCHY. In many ways, they were alike. They were both short. They dressed similarly. They generally liked the same music and movies and shows. Often, they were mistaken for twins, which they most definitely were not.

Of course, they were actually very different.

Krispy liked to laze about, having outgrown her enjoyment of strenuous physical activity somewhere around the 7th grade, whereas Krunchy was into the whole "exercise" thing and sports and mostly hung out with boys. Where Krunchy had a penchant for trashy reality TV and Nick/Disney shows, Krispy preferred the History Channel and crime dramas.

Krispy was always a bookworm. One lazy summer, she read every single Greek mythology book her library had to offer. Krunchy didn't read books unless it was for school or if there was going to be a movie version (of course, there were exceptions). Instead, she knew everything about everything in the state of Pop Culture.

Krispy could mostly be characterized as "nice," although the truth was she was just very chill and a conflict-avoider. Read up on the #9 Enneagram personality type and you have a blue print of how Krispy operates.

Krunchy could mostly be characterized as "mean" or "angry." Along with her pop culture tastes, she honed her wit and tongue to a fine and sharp point until Krispy started asking her "Why are you so mean???" and "Why are you so angry???"

But it turned out, they made a pretty good team. On a random afternoon, they came up with a ridiculous idea, involving READING and EXERCISE...but that is a tale for a different day.
*

On a secondary note, we also thought people would like FREE STUFF.

You see, Krunchy is the "cooler" sister.

When I was a college sophomore, I interned at a state mental hospital, where I had to pass through multiple-gated guard stations topped with barbed wire.

The sister just finished her 2nd year of college, and her summer internship is with a record label, where she gets swag and goes to concerts as part of her job.

Yeah, definitely cooler.

So what's this about a giveaway? Friends, my sister has some COOL new swag (stickers, posters, dog tags!), and well, just check out the vlog (the first EVER on this blog) below:



TO ENTER:

1. Visit Mustache Mania, and leave a comment about what you liked most on the site.

2. Please also comment with an email address where I can contact you if you win.

THAT'S IT!

For extra points...
+1 for spreading the word - please let us know where!
+1 to +5 (assigned by Krunchy based on AWESOMENESS) for sharing your favorite mustachioed person (or thing) - real or imagined - or share something else mustache related.

Following A Nudge is not necessary but would be very appreciated. :)

Contest closes a week from today, August 12th. We will then stick all entries in a hat (or use a random number generator) and pick a winner on Friday, the 13th (will it be your lucky day?).